OFFICIAL TRAVEL REQUEST
(OTR)
Any employee of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) who travels on official business regardless of whether or not they are going to request reimbursement must have an advance approval of an Official Travel Request (OTR) before a trip is taken (attached). Approval of travel prior to the expenses being incurred is a System Regulation. The form provides a record of those approvals and travel rule exceptions.
A complete statement of how the travel relates to official business must be on the form. State why it is necessary in the performance of your duties as a State employee to make the trip. "Attending a meeting" is not an acceptable reason or purpose for making a trip. Employee must participate in some specific manner in which he will directly facilitate the function of the university and provide a reasonable, substantial, and direct relationship between the purpose of the meeting and the accomplishment of his duties. If a paper is to be presented, the title or at least the topic should be indicated. If serving on a committee or as an officer of an organization or professional group, this should be specifically noted. If an acronym is used in the purpose of travel it should be spelled out once on the form.
Caution must be exercise to avoid potential or apparent conflicts of interest. In every case of this nature, the employee must specify the source of funding for the travel expense. Also, where official absence is involved, the purpose of the trip must justify the time spent as being in keeping with the functions of the university and the purpose for which the individual is employed. Therefore an OTR should be prepared even if there is no expense to the University to document the purpose.
Prior
to travel, an OTR must be filled out estimating funds for encumbrances such
as airfare, lodging, meals, taxis and parking. Enter such encumbrances in
FAMIS to obtain an Exempt "E" number. Airline reservations should
be made through Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's contracted travel
agency, Sanborn's Travel Services at 853-1441, and charged to the University's
Central Billing Account (CBA) or the Department Central Billed Account (DCBA)
card. The traveler may also use his/her individual corporate travel card to
pay for the airfare. Indicate on the OTR whether the CBA is being used for
airfare or the airfare is being paid by the individual. Lodging and car rental
reservations can also be made through Sanborn's, however; only airfare can
be charged to the CBA.
The Official Travel Request must be signed by an approved authority. The department
should retain the original copy and submit copy to the Travel office for confirmation
of reservation with Sanborn's or if a travel advance is being requested. Otherwise,
the department should submit a copy of the OTR with the travel voucher, and/or
with the DCBA expense report. Delegated approvers for signing OTR's are:
1. President
2. Vice Presidents
3. Associate and Assistant Vice Presidents
4. Deans/Directors
5. Account Manager, or Designee
In the case of multiple travelers and higher lodging, two approvers are needed, supervisor and a Vice President must approve the OTR.
In the case of Foreign Travel, the President must also approve the travel. Thirty days is required if foreign travel will be paid from State funds.
Airline tickets and itineraries (electronic tickets) charged to the University CBA are emailed to the Travel Coordinator unless it involves foreign travel. If a paper ticket is delivered, the travelers will be notified to pick up ticket/itinerary. If charged on personal credit card the Passenger's receipts should be turned in to the Travel Coordinator's office when, personal charge card is used, immediately after completion of travel for reimbursement on a travel voucher.
The Official Travel Request is also used for the following:
Travel advance is not available for all travelers (See Travel Advance, Page 11). Multiple Travelers field on the OTR must be completed. If known, the number of employees traveling to the same duty point should be disclosed and indicate the necessity of the employee attending same duty point (i.e., to obtain certification, etc.)
Since the University participates in the State Management Travel program, whenever a contracted vendor is not used, an approved exception listed on the second page of the OTR must be checked regardless of fund source. In most cases, a contracted vendor results in reduced costs for the University.
Official Travel Request Form and Itinerary Attachment
OTR and Itinerary Form Explanations
A travel voucher must be prepared even though there is not an OTR. You do not have to do an encumbrance, just note "NONE" on the travel voucher for the "E". You will have the traveler type a memo explaining why an OTR was not prepared and that they had prior approval from (insert name and title). It should be signed by their supervisor as well. If they did not have prior approval, then they must have their Dean approve the memo as valid business travel for the department (after the fact approval). If the Dean chooses, the travel reimbursement can be denied in those cases where approval was not granted for the travel. So, in most cases, the memo will have three signatures.
An OTR is not required for a
travel reimbursement that is for: